Mastering the Basics Vol. 3 - Making Good Shape

Good shape is a subject that has received scant attention in Japanese Go literature. Although references to shape are made in most books, there is no one book devoted exclusively to this subject. However, understanding and recognizing good shape is important for becoming a strong player and developing the intuition that will instantly guide you to finding the strongest moves in middle-game fighting. This book is intended to fill this gap.

The first chapter begins with an extensive theoretical introduction to shape, beginning with the efficient placement of stones. It then goes on to discuss thickness -- how to use it and how to counter it, and how, if used improperly, can result in the overconcentration of stones. It continues by contrasting the concept of thick stones with that of thin stones, and finally what are heavy stones and what are light stones, and how these relate to the important concept of sabaki, which is essentially a method of making good shape.

The second chapter gives examples of the standard shapes, both good and bad, such as ponnuki, empty triangles and pyramid shapes, the center of three stones, the head of two and three stones, etc.

The final chapter consists of 245 problems to give the readers the practice needed to hone their ability in finding the shape move in their games.